Polymer prices – quiet market, small price corrections
And for PVC, there is significant supply pressure and price erosion from European producers. The polyolefin panic has subsided, partly because market players have let go, closing 2025, and partly because the availability problems do not appear to be that severe - at least according to the "available stocks list" released last week by the major central European producers.
Last week was the last week when it was still possible to organize deliveries for 2025, but demand weakened by the end of the week. Most plastics converters will start their Christmas shutdown in the week ahead, so we can only expect a few purchases and possible price changes in the week ahead. Demand, particularly for polyethylene, was brisker in the former Yugoslavia, where converters are still trying to secure a start to 2026. However, in the week ahead, we expect the market in these countries to quiet down and demand to be weak.
The majority of companies are trying to close the year 2025 and prepare for an efficient start to 2026 on the feedstock side. However, it is difficult to judge the initial demand in 2026. Demand is expected to only become visible in the second half of January. In the meantime, most companies are optimizing their polymer stocks and not buying. Availability problems, which sometimes seemed threatening, have now been pushed into the background, especially as there is still availability in the market.
Although polymer manufacturers are trying to anticipate the possibility of a price increase in January, there seems little chance of this with falling feedstock prices. At most, there may be a price increase in the case of North American imported polyethylene, but this will only be noticeable in February, when the first shipments with increased prices arrive.
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